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Dow, S&P Leap to Record Highs on Stimulus Prospects

Written by: Jane Searle10/29/13 - 4:52 PM EDT

Tickers in this article:
AAPL PFE XYL ^DJI ^GSPC ^IXIC

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closed at record highs Tuesday on expectations the Federal Reserve won't pullback on its stimulus measures at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting tomorrow given that the U.S. economic recovery continues to struggle.

The S&P 500 gained 0.6% to close at 1,771.95 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.7% to 15,680.35 and the Nasdaq added 0.3% to 3,952.34.

The Fed's policy-making statement Wednesday is unlikely to announce a so-called tapering to its monthly asset purchases, Eric Stein, portfolio manager with Eaton Vance's Global Income Group, said Tuesday at a luncheon in New York. Stein added that the Fed could approach a policy in which it sometimes tightens and sometimes loosens asset purchases at later policy meetings, dependent upon the economic data coming out then.

A spate of economic data released earlier today was mostly positive but not strong enough to allow investors to expect that the Fed would view the reports as signs that it could begin to cutback on the roughly $385 million bond-buying program that is credited with stabilizing the economy following the 2009 recession.

"Housing data yesterday was positive along with the Case-Shiller index today, while earnings are mixed but generally supportive of the market," Schaeffer's Investment Research director of research Todd Salamone said in a phone interview. "The Fed is not causing anyone to buy or sell with expectations for tapering moving back to January or March."

Pfizer PFE gained 1.7% to $31.25 as the largest U.S. drug maker posted earnings that beat expectations on higher sales of cancer drugs as well as cost cutting. The company earned $2.59 billion or 39 cents per share in the quarter. When special charges of $572 million linked to restructurings and writedowns were stripped out, Pfizer earned 58 cents per share, above analyst forecasts for 56 cents per share.

Water technology company Xylem XYL surged 12.4% to $32.53 after profits of 49 cents a share beat estimates for 35 cents. The company also raised guidance to a range of $1.60 to $1.65 per share, citing strong third quarter performance, cost cutting and improving market conditions.

Seagate STX fell 3.2% to $48.25 as the data storage provider missed analyst forecasts for its fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue. Seagate posted revenue of $3.5 billion, down from $3.7 billion a year earlier and below Wall Street forecasts of $3.56 billion.

Bathroom and kitchen company Masco MAS rose 2.6% to $21.47 after sales beat expectations. The company posted sales of $2.2 billion last quarter, above estimates for revenue of $2.1 billion. Earnings of 27 cents a share also beat analyst expectations.